We’re hugely excited to see Windows Phone 8 arrive later this year, bringing with it a new wave of Windows Phone hardware. Nokia is similarly enthusiastic towards the upgraded platform, and is confident that the new handsets it releases for WP8 will be successful. All that said, it appears that Nokia has a backup plan in case Windows Phone 8 fails to deliver in the way Nokia and Microsoft are hoping, as recently revealed by Chariman Risto Siilasmaa. Just what might Nokia be planning to do in such a situation?

While it’s seemed like Nokia’s gone all-in on Windows Phone, scaling back Symbian development as it makes end-of-life arrangements for the platform, Siilasmaa mentions a “contingency plan” the company has in mind should WP8’s arrival prove disappointing.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the fates of Nokia and RIM, with plenty of suggestions that they should combine forces in order to avoid separate financial failures. That might be a possibility, but you don’t make a stable ship by lashing two sinking hulls together.

What about Android? The platform’s strong, but could Nokia break into a heavily-saturated market like that? While there’s a good deal of doubt that it could get the attention it needs with Android hardware, we’re tempted to give the company the benefit of the doubt; an Android-based Lumia handset sounds pretty darn nice.

Then there are the really left-field ideas, like something from the MeeGo/Tizen camps or even the upcoming Firefox OS; we’re not too inclined to put much faith in either suggestion. What do you think could be Nokia’s secret plan for restoring the company to success without Windows Phone?